My sister's present
by hikari107
Summary: A night at Gaara's house on his birthday. Where's Temari's present? Oneshot.


Disclaimer: Does mo i have to say it? I don't own Naruto!

Gently, Gaara picked up the photo frame in thin, pale hands. It was one of his mother, Karura, and the day happened to be his birthday.

As well as his mother's 17th death anniversary.

There he sat on the living room sofa, the cold stone floors strewn with the beautifully wrapped gifts from the large number of well wishers from his village, showing that they cared for their Kazekage, as well as those of admiring girls, wishing that he would take notice of them, which he never did.

A Kazekage his age -- he was 17-- and with heavy responsibilities would not bother even trying to find a girlfriend,though if he wanted one, all he had to do was pick a girl. But no. He had one on his mind already anyway.

His sister. Don't worry, he wasn't committing incest. It was a sort of brotherly love, like the kind Kankuro always showed him.

Sometimes, he wondered if he should have hated her. For twelve years of his life,she had neglected him, feared him, maybe even scorned him, feeling a deep dark hatred for her mother's murderer. That and she shared the looks of THAT person, the uncle who had betrayed his trust, as well as being an almost exact copy of the first woman he killed. She had the proud,crude attitude of his so called Kazekage father as well, something that was way too obvious in the presence of people other than that of the only family she had--her two younger brothers.

Gaara scanned the floor for a present with his sister's name on the tag. None. He set the photo frame down on a small wooden table beside the sofa, then knelled down among the mass of gifts, the fabric of his black jumpsuit meeting the granite, then started to tear through the gifts wildly.

_Damn it, where is Temari's present?! Has she forgotten that January 19th is my birthday?!_

He needed assurance that his sister still cared for him. She'd only started celebrating last year, being too busy the previous two years and before that she was still fearing him, fearing that Shukaku would suddenly lash out and kill her if she got too close. The scaredy cat. He had stabilized, if not a bit, back then. Then again,maybe he shouldn't hate her. It wasn't her fault that she resembled the three people he scorned anyway. That, and every time she was around him nowadays, she shed her 'I'll-always-be-better-than-you' attitude for her more sisterly, gentle, _modest_ ,_caring_ side. If she always kept that attitude she would've found a boyfriend already. The previous one scared them off. Which happened to be exactly what she wanted. Funny, a girl her age would be gushing over a boy by now. Perhaps she wanted to concentrate on her work, the workaholic. Ah well,it was her life, she could do what she wanted with it and he would have no say.

Gaara picked up a small package,wrapped clumsily in parcel paper with badly drawn patterns of stars and circles on it, as well as what looked like a drunk smiley face on drugs. He gave a small smile and read the tag, though it was quite obviously Naruto's. On the tag was a small message:

_Happy birthday Gaara! I'll soon be a better Hokage than you are a Kazekage, dattebayo!_

_Naruto_

Ah, the guy amused him all the time. He was a great friend. Next up, he found Rock Lee's, which looked far better than Naruto's, for sure. It was rectangular, with light blue wrapping paper and white ribbon. On the tag was another message for Gaara:

_Have a most youthful birthday, my dear comrade and may the power of youth prevail! May you always be youthful. _

_Rock Lee_

That was the sort of cheesy talk Gai would often spout, but what mattered was the intention,after all.

A little bit of digging and then he came up with Kiba, Shino and Hinata's presents. No messages there but the gifts were all beautifully decorated. Next, that Shikamaru and his teams' presents, the messages reading as follows:

_Here's your present,Kazekage-sama . Be grateful you even get one from me._

_Shikamaru_

_Happy birthday. Wish you get lots of gifts and food._

_Choji_

_HAPPY BIRTHDAY,GAARA-KUN!WISH YOU LOTSA LOVE AND HAPPINESS!_

_Ino_

A little too peppy, that last person. Peppy people gave him the creeps. Who was left? Ah, Neji, Tenten,and uh, who else? Nope. Tsunade just sent a card. The proud Hyuuga had just sent a book on warfare with a card while Tenten's was an assortment of weapons he could teach Matsuri to use. And a card. Aw. Finally, the (second) most important present came into his hands. Kankuro's. Let's just say that if his work was a kid's drawing, Naruto's would be sold in an auction as a Picasso, not to insult the great artist. Again, only the intention mattered. Poor brother of his wasn't an artist anyway, the only art he could manage being the painting he did on his face.

Alas, there was still no present from his beloved sister. Gaara was getting depressed. She was supposed be back from one of her missions to Konoha about three hours ago. Was she trying to avoid him on his special night? All of a sudden, the lights blacked out and it was pitch black. He couldn't move. What was going on?! There was the sound of people shuffling around and furniture being moved, then the lights came back on.

Shikamaru released his Kagemane no jutsu and then joined the rest of the Konoha crew in front of the wooden table they had placed in front of Gaara, with a large chocolate birthday cake, candles lit on the polished oak surface. Directly in front of the cake were Gaara's sister and brother, their lips curved into smiles, as were the rest of the nins'.

"Sorry we took so long, but we needed to surprise you," apologized Temari. Gaara thanked the crew for coming. Shikamaru shook his head, then pointed a thumb at Temari.

"Not us. It was her troublesome idea. She helped us plan this even though she was ill while in Konoha.

Don't worry, she's a little better now."

The rest nodded in agreement. True,the girl looked a bit flushed and ready to faint in weakness. Hinata sat her down on a chair lest she fell. Gaara went up to the table and made a wish.

And he knew exactly what to wish for.

I'm not telling lest it doesn't come true.

A/N: Well, how do you like it? Review if ya want.


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